Peterson warming up for post-playing career?

You have to wonder what Peterson’s career will be: A GM or an analyst who assesses trades?

Adrian Peterson is returning to the Washington Redskins for his 13th NFL season, but he wishes it was under different circumstances.

He’d prefer to have what he calls “the best offensive lineman in the game” in front of him.

The 35-year old running back, who ranks fifth on the all-time rushing list, was critical of the team for dealing veteran tackle Trent Williams to the San Francisco 49ers for the rather paltry return of a fifth-round pick in last month’s draft and a third-round choice in 2021.

Williams sat out the 2019 season in hopes of being moved because the Redskins medical staff.

“I really didn’t like the trade, obviously,” Peterson said in an official team transcript. “I feel like Trent is the best offensive lineman in the game. I’m able to see him firsthand and what he’s able to do. I was hoping there would be some good ending to him and what the Redskins were dealing with, but I’m happy for him. I’ve been on Trent since he was in high school and as long as he’s happy, that’s all that matters.”

Without Williams, Peterson rushed for 898 yards in 15 games last season. It was the first time in his career that he failed to reach quadruple digits when making at least 14 starts. Still listed at the top of Washington’s depth chart, he needs 1,054 yards to pass Barry Sanders for fourth on the all-time rushing leader board.

Whether this is his last kick at the can or not, you have to wonder what Peterson’s career will be: A GM or a analyst who assesses trades?

UP THE MIDDLE The idea of playing games in empty or almost empty stadiums is not sitting well with Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald. Not at all. “You need fans to play a game,” the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2017 and 2018 said in a conference call with reporters. “I don’t see how you can play a game without no fans. I feel like that takes out the excitement and the fun of the game. I feel like the fans is what pick you up. The fans is what makes the game exciting. The fans will give you extra juice when you’re tired and fatigued, when you make that big play and you hear 80,000 fans going crazy. That just pumps you up.” He was before, but Donald has to be even more of a fan favourite now … Eagles defensive lineman Brandon Graham has his own plans for creating energy without fans. “Trash talk,” he told reporters on a conference call. “The only thing we’re gonna do now is hear everybody on the sideline and that trash talk that is going to be happening.” Sign me up for that.

ON SECOND THOUGHT Coming soon (well, maybe not real soon) to a TV screen near you — Man in the Arena, a nine-episode docuseries focusing on the career of Tom Brady. The ESPN ordered production promises to be “first-hand accounts of pivotal moments in his career, including all nine of his Super Bowl appearances with the New England Patriots.” The follow-up to Michael Jordan’s popular The Last Dance is due to be televised sometime in 2021 … Now that once-dominant Aldon Smith has been reinstated by the NFL following what amounts to a four season penalty for violating the league’s personal conduct and substance abuse policies, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports that Josh Gordon will “soon” also apply for reinstatement from his fifth drugs-related suspension in December. The 29-year old Gordon, who had 1646 receiving yards in just 14 games for the Browns in 2013, will be a free agent, but he’s expected to sign with the Seahawks, for whom he played five games last season … Meanwhile, Smith says he’s “grateful” to be back in the league and for his chance with the Cowboys. “For me to have the opportunity to get back and do something that I love, something that I enjoy means a lot,” he told TMZ Sports. “I was able to defeat some big, big obstacles in my life.”

GOING DEEP Owners are expected to vote next week on rule changes that include a proposal for a sky judge to help out as the eighth official. Another proposal to be voted on would see teams be allowed to get a running start when attempting an onside kick. From a standing start, just 10.4 percent of onside kickers were successful the last two seasons … Another alternative to the onside kick would allow a team a chance to maintain possession by going for it on fourth-and-15 from their 25-yard line. That sounds like a good time, and it’s an idea that NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero says appears to be growing. Judging by his Twitter response, Patrick Mahomes is in favour. No surprise, given his history of success at late game drives … Speaking of Mahomes, negotiations on his new contract are to begin this summer, according to Chiefs CEO and chairman Clark Hunt. “We want him to play his entire career in Kansas City, and that’s what we’re going to be shooting for,” Hunt said on a Dallas radio station. Cowboys fans are probably wishing their owner would say something like that about their QB. EXTRA POINTS Former first round pick Deone Bucannon has agreed to terms with the Atlanta Falcons. The 27-year-old linebacker played five seasons with the Cardinals before splitting last season with the Giants and Bucs … The Saints have signed former Steelers linebacker Anthony Chickillo.

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